When it comes to professional wrestling, there are few names more widely respected than Samoa Joe. From his years in Ring of Honor and Impact Wrestling to his current run in All Elite Wrestling – Joe has dominated every promotion he’s stepped into.
This does include WWE, where he became a three time NXT Champion and United States Champion – but one of his greatest rivals felt WWE could have done more with Joe during his time in the company.
Samoa Joe Was Underused By WWE
While speaking about Samoa Joe on the Kurt Angle Show – Angle would discuss how TNA got him right at first – but WWE never saw the same potential.
“Joe, he got utilized properly in TNA at the beginning. Until he lost his undefeated streak against me, his value dropped dramatically. They’ve never really picked back up and brought Joe back to the level he was when he was undefeated.
I think that WWE could have done more with him. They did do some, they did a lot, but I know they could have done more. He was that talented. I’m not sure if it had to do with his look.
I love his look. I think that everybody should be different; big, tall, short, wide. Doesn’t matter. I don’t know if it had to do with his look, but Samoa Joe was so talented. He deserved to be a WWE Champion, he really did. Probably and that’s not me blowing smoke, that’s me being honest.”
One thing that harmed him during his time in WWE was injuries. Joe would develop a reputation for being injury prone, making it hard to get behind him as a World Champion. Despite this, Joe would battle for the WWE & Universal Championships during his time in the company, facing the likes of AJ Styles & Brock Lesnar.
While Joe has not been booked as an unstoppable beast in AEW – he’s consistently been a threat to anyone he faces. He’s treated as a legend of the industry, and has claimed the TNT Championship twice and is currently the ROH World Television Champion.
Should Joe have had more success in WWE? Let us know what you think in the comment section down below.
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